First person
Exactly fifty years ago today, man first set foot on the moon. The first astronaut was Neil Armstrong. The following excerpts are taken from his biography. A glimpse into the story of his life, in his own words.
"When we set out to board the spacecraft, I looked at everyone and gave a thumbs up with confidence. We ourselves were not so confident. A little nervous and a little excited, it was a mixed state. There is a lot of noise when the rocket is high, very high. And as much shock as sitting in a train that is running on a bad track. There was a lot of hope and a lot of hard work on this mission. You just have to be more discriminating with the help you render toward other people. That you do not make any mistakes in the cockpit. That's all you have.
My own life and passion prepared me for this mission. Ever since he was a child, he has been fond of flying and flying. I got my pilot's license at the age of sixteen. At that time I could not drive a car. At the age of 21, I flew fighter jets on missions in the Korean War. After the war he became a test pilot who was given to experiment with new technology. The X15 set a record of flying at an altitude of 4,000 miles per hour. That was in 1962 when I was traumatized by the death of my three-year-old daughter. He died of brain cancer. You cannot forget the death of a child. The mark stays on you for a lifetime but the way to deal with it is to live a busy life. That was the year I was chosen for astronauts.
An accident during astronaut training happened in 1966 when our capsule went out of control for a while. Then in 1968, in a landing device experiment, it crashed with a glitch. It was only a hundred feet from the ground when I ejected it. I barely escaped the flames. When I got out, I went to the office and started working. When someone said, "You're a dying child and you're back to work?" So my answer was, "If you don't die, life goes on." There is a lot of work to be done. ”
I was chosen as the commander of the first mission. After traveling for four days, we reached the moon. Michael Collins remained in the command module. Buzz Aldrin and I boarded the Lunar Module. Something unexpected happened during the landing. The guiding system was taking us to a pit where there were big rocks. I don't think it was a good place to land. I took control of myself to get to a better place. This started using extra fuel. One billion people were watching. The ground crew knew the landing flight plan and the lander was not following it. Seeing this, some people were now holding their breath and watching what was happening. Then we landed it on the moon and hearing the words "the eagle has landed" many people, who were sweating, came to their senses. Then I started down the stairs. With this step in mind, I had in mind the 400,000 people who worked for this mission, and many others, who were indirectly involved. My words "this is a big step for humanity" were for all of them because this step was not for me alone.
The moon is a very interesting feeling. The horizon seems very close. Sunshine and dust are different. We were given many experiments to do. We did it all. Didn't spend much time. Then came the return. Entering back to Earth was the hardest part of the journey.
By the time we got to Earth, we had become superstars. We were greeted by 4 million people in New York. Then we went on a world tour. The success of reaching the moon was not the success of us astronauts, it was the success of humans. We represented people from all over the world. From the crowds in the Congo to the Queen of Great Britain, everyone wanted to see us. I was not ready for all this. It sounded good but it was a burden to me. I didn't like it at all.
I wanted my fame not just because of one incident but because of my daily work. And I didn't deserve that fame. If I was the first person to set foot on the moon, it was not my perfection, it was my circumstances. This has never been my only achievement. I just got fame.
After that I ended my astronomy career and started teaching engineering at the University of Cincinnati. I was sorry for one thing. He could not give time to his family because of his career. He could spend less time with his growing sons.
I knew that the Apollo program would not last long and that it was planned to leave after a few years, but I had high expectations from the space program. I thought we could do more than that. My opinion is that when your competition is over then you can't do much. That passion and enthusiasm fades.
I did not stop flying. I used to be a rocket pilot but now at the age of 75 I fly a small glider. Looking at the earth from a height like a bird is an experience and a hobby I could not give up. ”
Neil Armstrong died on August 25, 2012 in Cincinnati. He was 82 years old at the time.
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